I’ve had many of you ask if I made my little girl’s dress from the fair photos yesterday. Oh, how I wish I had the time to make things like this!

Erin at Anneke Panneke made that adorable dress! I hope you visit her Etsy shop. Look at this turkey time outfit. How cute is that??

I had never heard of Etsy before starting to blog. Now I’m addicted to it. I could shop there for hours! If you don’t already know, Etsy is a site similar to eBay, but everything sold is handmade. If you see DIY places, that means Do It Yourself. (I never knew this either! Remember… I’m bad with internet lingo.)

One of my all time favorite things to do in the fall is visit the State Fair. Yesterday was dollar day if you brought canned goods. I was all about that!

We had a mommy and daughter day. No boys allowed! It was nice taking our time and having girly fun.

I had to laugh at how calm she was at the Little Hands on the Farm exhibit. I’m so used to my son running through everything like it’s a race. We’ll have to go back and ride the wild rides with my son and husband later. This day was all about the animals and food!

The Back Yard Circus.

My little one sat up front with her friends. I was so annoyed at a girl who sat next to my daughter. She had a giant piece of cotton candy. When she would run out, she would go back to her mom and get more. I was waiting for my daughter to throw a fit that she didn’t have any. I mean, it was candy and PINK her favorite.

Temptation!

She’s giving her the eye. The big girl is NOT giving in to her stare.

No crying! Thankfully the show started and there was more to look at than pink cotton candy.

On our way to look at the animals!

Pigs!

This guy weighs 1200 lbs!

Girls Rule!

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Speaking of pigs… I made it my mission to try as many fried foods as my stomach would allow!! I was glad to have my friend Toby to help me eat all these goodies! Yeah, we made his wife sick:-)

This is an easy idea for party favors or a do it yourself gift. For one Halloween party, I made a bunch of coasters with previous guests in costumes. Everyone had fun looking at the costumes, then took theirs home as a favor.

Size your photos/design to fit, then print with iron on transfer paper.

Make sure to flip your image so it irons on correctly. This is especially important if your design contains text.

Cut to size.

Iron on your image.

Let cool and trim extra around the edge.

No Sew Pumpkin

A fellow MOPS mom and super crafty gal, Nikki at Whimsy Love, has a great tutorial about these adorable fabric pumpkins! Go HERE to see details on how to make one. I’ve got lots of extra fabric just waiting for me to wrap around a toilet paper roll! How cute! Thanks Nikki!!!

I attended my first MOPS (Mother’s of Preschoolers) National Convention this weekend. Look at my beautiful leaders who came along with me! I love these ladies!

Picture if you will a herd, I mean a crowd of 5,000 women. Not just any women, but mother’s of preschoolers, ALONE with NO kids, NO husbands, NO dirty diapers, NO cooking, NO laundry, NO whining and NO responsibility besides making their sessions on time! Can I just tell you, these were probably the happiest and most excited women you have would have ever seen!!!

There were women in feather boas, light up cowboy hats, glow in the dark necklaces, tiaras, you name it… it was there!

I feel for any man who was walking around this convention. ha! Even the men’s bathrooms were converted for us. I like how they beautified the urinals.

This crowd was amazing. I couldn’t believe how many women came from all across the United States to learn more about leadership and how to make a difference in other mother’s lives through the word of God. It was such an inspiring trip that I’m getting a lump in my throat just thinking about it. I think I cried more in 2 days than I have in 3 years! ha. The good cry that makes you think about your life, dreams, relationships and what you can do to help others. The speakers, musicians and testimonies were incredible. I learned strategies to organize my family life and why I should live my dreams. I was reminded we aren’t called to be perfect moms, but called to receive from God and give back to our children. I learned that we can’t keep doing and doing, going and going… we have to rest. I could go on and on about what I took back from this weekend!

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The most memorable moment by far was not seeing Lynne Spears (Britney’s mama), Plumb or Avalon, but was when I was called to stand and speak before a group of, well… I don’t even know how many? Let’s just say a LOT, a crowd, a huge room full of women!! Did I ever tell you that my BIGGEST fear is speaking in front of a large group!! Can you say heart racing, pit sweating, panic??? I really don’t remember walking up to the front of the room…. well, let’s back up a bit.

In order to help get over this fear, I signed up for Carol Kuykendall’s Up Front Speaking session. She’s a well known author and speaker who I’m sure will provide wonderful tips. My friend Kerri also comes to this session. We’re excited, so much so that when asked what we think when we hear the words public speaking, I shout PANIC!!! Carol then says, “Who was the person who just shouted panic?” Oh my! She was talking to me! So of course I shot my hand up in the air like Arnold Horshack from Welcome Back Kotter. Ooh-ooh-ooooh! It was me!!! She said to remember I answered this. Mmmmm. Does that mean I’ll get a prize? Oh, I love prizes.

Back to the session…. Carol then had us roll play with a partner, practice introducing them as a speaker for our MOPS group back home. I thought Kerri and I did wonderful jobs. Maybe we didn’t need this class after all??? Then Carol says, “Panic, where are you? You and your partner come on up here with me.” What??? The entire room sucked in their breath. Remember they’re all here because they have the fear also. After Kerri gave me an I’m going to kill you look (ha!)… we were all the sudden in the front of the room. Poor girl got dragged up there because of me, so now both of our hearts are racing like crazy! Did I mention there were a LOT of women there? Wow! Carol wants to hear my introduction. Look at all the women! What am I supposed to do again? I look at Kerri, I didn’t know she could smile and give the I’m going to kill you look at the same time:-) ha! It’s now or never, so I go for it! Okay, so you know I screwed up my introduction! I totally forgot what Kerri was supposed to be speaking about. I think I did introduce her by name, but that’s about it. I said a few things that made the room actually laugh, then we were back in our seats. Carol went on with her message. Talk about hearts pumping!! Kerri and I were ready to run a marathon! She didn’t say a word and was as freaked out as me! ha. Boy what a scary moment, but what a fun moment all the same. I realized that if I can get in front of all of those women without puking, I might actually do okay someday with the right preparation and prayer.

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The weekend wasn’t all leadership sessions and crying:-) We had some fun girl time too! This was the shuttle we took to go out. Just had to get a photo of this sign! ha.

The restaurant brought out little cheesecake desserts for my birthday. These are not shots:-) ha!

I want to thank the leaders from our group for taking the time and money to attend this conference. Also, a big shout out to our husbands!!! If it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t have been able to have this wonderful experience. Yeah for dads!

Alright girly girls…. I found the cutest thing for you crafty types! Who says you can’t afford a Hermés bag? Now you can download one for free and make it yourself! Go to their web site and click on “the world of Hermés”. This is a great idea for party crafts and favors for kids and adults. I’m going to download them all to save for future parties! This is my favorite. Oh, and the red balloon one is adorable!